The present invention pertains generally to data storage devices. More particularly, the present invention is related to printing, faxing or electronic mailing directly from a data storage device.
Universal Serial Bus, or USB, data storage devices are increasingly common devices to store data and transfer data among computers. They are used to store documents such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents, as well as PDF files and CAD drawings. Because of their increased storage capacity, they are replacing the previously popular floppy disks and zip disks that were once used for mobile storage mediums. In the typical case, the user attaches the USB data storage device to a computer's USB port. Data files are then transferred directly from the computer to the USB data storage device. The user is then able to remove the device and connect it to another computer. This computer then accesses the USB data storage device and the user is able to transfer the stored data files from the USB data storage device to the second computer's hard drive.
Current printing devices require a computer in communication with the printer, enabling the insertion of a USB data storage device into the computer and transmitting from the computer to the printer. The user must then determine the actions to be performed by the attached multifunction peripheral. This results in a large document queue, as multiple users have documents waiting in the queue for printing. Further, a user may never be certain as to the timing of the printout of work as the document queue may have multiple print jobs in front of the user.
Thus, there exists a need for a method and system whereby a user can print, fax or email directly from a multifunction peripheral irrespective of a network presence.